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Living Witness (episode)
Reactivated after lying inactive for 700 years, a backup version of the Doctor tries to uncover the truth about war crimes supposedly committed by Voyager when they passed a planet centuries ago. Summary :When diplomacy fails, there's only one alternative; Violence. Force must be applied without apology, it's the Starfleet way. Captain Janeway, sporting uncharacteristically short hair and black gloves, negotiates with a Vaskan diplomat about fighting a war with the allegedly innocent Kyrians, in return for the way to a wormhole. All of a sudden, a screen freezes to hear a voice commentary from a Kyrian tour guide at the Kyrian Museum of Heritage, named Quarren, explaining how after seven hundred years, they are still recovering from the acts of the evil Warship Voyager. A Vaskan participating in the tour asks how they know any of this is true, to which he is replied by the tour guide "Look at all the evidence we have." Quarren proceeds to tell his tour that a new data source has been uncovered and that it might contain personal logs or other proof directly from Voyager. After the museum closes Quarren uses recreated tools from Voyager to attempt to open the data. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency." The data source is actually a backup copy of the EMH (The Doctor). Quarren tells him that as a mass murderer the Doctor will have to pay for his crimes. The Doctor is confused, wondering what crimes he is charged with. He then learns the Kyrian version of events. When he attempts to explain the correct version of events to Quarren, his explanation is met with skepticism. After some time to think, Quarren decides that the Doctor may be correct and that for seven hundred years the Kyrians have been teaching falsehood. The Doctor is then allowed to edit the simulation of Voyager''s encounter with the Kyrians. This new recreation sparks a heated debate, as the Doctor's version of events implies that it was the Kyrians rather than the Vaskans who provoked the Great War. Still, some people do not believe the Doctor's testimony and demand that he be terminated. The Doctor, however, is convinced that with the medical tricorder that is on display he can prove that Tedran, a Kyrian hero and revolutionary, died at the hand of a Vaskan weapon. These new revelations snaps the tension that has been steadily building between the Kyrians and the Vaskans over the past hundreds of years. During the attack of a mob at the museum, the Doctor accidentally loses the tricorder while trying to help Quarren, who was injured. After the attack, the Doctor states that he should be shut down because as an EMH he is obliged to help people, not cause riots. Quarren convinces him that his information is vital and will save many more people. They begin to look for the tricorder. Further into the future, a group of people stand around a viewscreen, with another tour guide explaining how this was a turning point in the people's history, and how it brought about equality between the Kyrians and the Vaskans. Memorable Quotes "''Somewhere — halfway across the galaxy, I hope — Captain Janeway is spinning in her grave." : - The Doctor Background Information * Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres) does not appear in this episode as she was in labor with her daughter, Emma Rose Dawson, who was born on 16 January 1998. * Some sets in this episode, including the Kyrian Museum of Heritage, were also used in . * This episode marked Tim Russ' directorial debut. This is the only episode of any Star Trek series that he directed. * Although Star Trek: Voyager features no episodes in the mirror universe, this episode comes as close as possible featuring the main characters as "evil representations" of the real crew. * Chronologically, this episode is the latest of any Star Trek to be aired, as its events are set further into the future than anything yet depicted. * Henry Woronicz previously played another alien attempting to learn his species' history though Voyager in . * This episode could technically be considered the first Star Trek episode ever not to feature any regular characters as they all appear only as holograms in Quarren's recreation of ''Voyager'' with the exception of the Doctor, who also appears as a back-up version of "his" program. * Robert Picardo plays three different holographic versions of the Doctor in this episode (One of them an android) but does not actually play the character himself. * This episode suggests that it is possible to make a backup copy of the Doctor. However, in many other episodes (eg. ) it appears that his program will be lost forever if it is transferred and cannot return. However, this may be because the backup module was lost (as explained in this episode) and therefore unusable. *Depending on one's viewpoint, this episode either flatly contradicts, or firmly upholds, the events of . There, Harry Kim's efforts to make a new version of The Doctor fail. The presence of the EMH backup module in "Witness" means that either Harry had no need to make a copy of the Doctor, or that his failed efforts to do so prompted the creation of the module. The determinative question never directly answered by any episode of the series is whether Voyager launched with this technology on board. * The Warship Voyager features a Kazon crew member. * None of the crew of the Warship Voyager wear rank pips or comm badges. Links and References Guest Stars *Henry Woronicz as Quarren *Rod Arrants as Daleth *Craig Richard Nelson as Vaskan arbiter *Marie Chambers as Kyrian arbiter *Brian Fitzpatrick as Tedran *Morgan Margolis as Vaskan visitor *Mary Anne McGarry as Tabris *Timothy Davis-Reed as Kyrian spectator Uncredited Co-Stars *Tarik Ergin as Ayala *Steve Silverie as Vaskan spectator *Fred Hafner as Kyrian visitor *Glenn Goldstein as Kyrian commando #1 References arbiter; assault probe; biogenic weapon; Borg drone; cerebral cortex; dilithium; Emergency Medical Hologram backup module; Great War; hedgehog; Horsehead Nebula; hyperspanner; Kazon; Kesef; Kyrian; Kyrian fighter; Kyrian-Vaskan homeworld; Mars; medical tricorder; Museum of Kyrian Heritage; neural solvent; optic nerve; particle weapon; photon torpedo; Rip Van Winkle; Syrric Ocean; Vaskan; The Voyager Encounter; [[Warship Voyager|Warship Voyager]]; wormhole |next= }} Category:VOY episodes de:Der Zeitzeuge es:Living Witness fr:Living Witness nl:Living Witness